Sixers’ Bob Myers Talks Front Office Search, Roster, More
Speaking to reporters on Thursday less than 48 hours after dismissing president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, Sixers managing partner Josh Harris made it clear he shares fans’ frustrations about the fact that the team hasn’t advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs during his time owning the franchise.
“To our fans, I want you to know: no one’s more frustrated than me that we haven’t achieved our goals,” Harris said during his opening remarks, per Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com. “I care deeply for the city and the team. I acknowledge how disappointing it is that we’ve not made it past the second round of the playoffs. We owe it to you and the city to be better.”
Harris and Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, focused primarily during Thursday’s media session about the 76ers’ impending search for a new head of basketball operations. Asked what sort of characteristics he’s looking for as he seeks Morey’s replacement, Myers said the team wants to hire a high-character individual who is willing to collaborate with the rest of the front office.
“I’m a big believer in character and leadership, and I’m looking for a person that embodies those things,” Myers said. “But there’s many characteristics under that, that I believe kind of qualify in making a modern GM a success. There’s front-facing responsibilities. There’s responsibilities of managing star players. There’s responsibilities of managing up to ownership. There’s contract negotiations. There’s draft process. There’s evaluating analytics. There’s medical staff.
“You go down the line, and these jobs have an enormity to them, so I’m looking to find someone that can check as many of those boxes as possible but also raise their hand and say, ‘You know what? I’m actually not good in this space. I’m going to need some support.'”
Myers, who previously led Golden State’s front office, intends hire someone to run the Sixers’ basketball operations department on a day-to-day basis and wants that executive to have “a lot of authority.” However, the former Warriors general manager indicated that he expects to be involved in major personnel and roster decisions going forward.
“What (the new head of basketball operations is) going to get, and our fans are going to get, is them plus me,” Myers said. “I won’t be on a day-to-day level, but on the high-level decision making, which is being here at the draft, being here leading up to the trade deadline, being available for free agency discussions, free agency meetings, things like that, I’m going to be involved at that level.
“And I can tell you that I imagine – and this isn’t, I’m not saying this lightly – I’ll be communicating with that person daily, if not five out of seven days a week. … I want to hire somebody that I can work with. I want to hire somebody that Josh can work with. And most importantly, I want to win. And I think that I have had some experience in this space, and if I have something to say, it’s harder for me not to say it than say it. But that’ll be my role, and obviously continuing to work with Josh on all this very high-level stuff.”
Here are a few more of Myers’ most notable comments from the Sixers’ Thursday press conference, via Aaronson:
On whether the Sixers will hire a new head of basketball operations before next month’s draft:
“I’d like to have someone. I hope to have someone. But if it hasn’t happened, that’s OK too. But the goal would be to have someone in place for the draft to get acclimated with the new group. By the way, the group is working now. And whoever we hire, not sure who that will be, will likely, possibly already be evaluating the draft from where they’re coming from. So that’s a benefit in some ways. But yeah, I’d like to, and I hope to, but it’ll be as much time as required to get the best person. Because again, sure, have someone by the draft, but the goal would be to have someone that’s the right person for a long amount of time after that.”
On whether a team can win a title under the current CBA with three players on maximum-salary contracts:
“Well, we didn’t get it done this year with three guys, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I think it’s a smart question in that, what’s the modern roster supposed to look like with the second apron, really, which oftentimes operates as kind of a hard cap? The truth is, depth may be more important than it’s ever been. Maybe that’s the pace of play. Maybe that’s what we require of our players more. Not to say that this model doesn’t work, but we have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it and see if – we’ve got to be honest about, can this model work? And that’s really the question, and also understanding that depth is key, and you only have a certain amount of resources to spend.”
On whether the Sixers will prioritize Tyrese Maxey‘s and VJ Edgecombe‘s timelines or continue trying to win with Joel Embiid and Paul George:
“If I had the answer to that question, I’d actually just do it. I don’t know if I need to tell you. I’d just do it. I look forward to partnering with leadership to get that answer, but you’re asking the right question. That’s a question I think everybody’s asking. And it’s not to criticize an older player or praise a younger player. It’s about: how do we get past the second round? How do we get further? But that’s what makes the job hard. That’s what makes it gratifying, is figuring — if it was easy, it wouldn’t be worth it. It’s very hard to build these things and build them in the right way.”
On whether Morey handled February’s Jared McCain trade properly:
“I like Daryl. I’m not going to disparage Daryl here today. I think he did a fine job, and I think he’s a good person. … Right now we have the 22nd pick. Our job is to get that right. We have three second-round picks from it. We should be graded on the ultimate result of transactions like that.
“But I understand. I made draft picks where we got an F right away, 10 minutes after the draft. F! And I was like, ‘How do they know it’s an F? I mean, the guy hasn’t even played.’ But your job and everybody’s job is to react. I totally understand that. Our job is to make a trade. There will be a reaction. It’ll be positive or negative, but that trade isn’t done, and our job is to make sure that on our end of the trade, we do a good job of drafting the best player at 22.”
Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Pistons, Giannis, Kawhi, More
After averaging 22.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game on 67.8% shooting following the All-Star break, Pistons center Jalen Duren has struggled to make an impact during the postseason. Duren is putting up just 10.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG through 12 playoff games and was benched in the fourth quarter and overtime of Detroit’s Game 5 loss on Wednesday in favor of Paul Reed.
Duren’s poor postseason play has the potential to complicate his contract negotiations with the Pistons when he reaches restricted free agency this summer, notes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“He’s not a max player, but they’re probably going to have to give him the max,” one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “Because now teams (with cap room) like Chicago or Brooklyn might see him as someone they could get with a max offer sheet and Detroit will have to match. With the new apron rules, it might come back to bite (the Pistons), and it’s just another example of how the CBA crushes team building.”
The Pistons will also face a tricky negotiation this offseason with wing Ausar Thompson, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension ahead of his fourth NBA season. Thompson is a defensive dynamo but remains a very limited offensive player who made six three-pointers all season and converted just 57.1% of his free throws. Like Duren, he has been benched in some clutch-time situations during the postseason.
Still, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, some league insiders he spoke to about Thompson predicted the Defensive Player of the Year finalist could command an extension in the range of $25MM per year, the same average annual salary that Dyson Daniels (four years, $100MM) and Christian Braun (five years, $125MM) got on their rookie scale extensions last fall.
Here’s more league-wide chatter from Windhorst and Bontemps:
- While there have been a few false alarms on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade front, there’s a growing belief around the NBA that the Bucks will actually trade their two-time MVP this offseason, Bontemps reports. “It just feels like they’re done with the circus, more than anything,” an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “They seem to want a clean break and to move on.”
- Most sources who spoke to Bontemps at this week’s draft combine in Chicago about the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard believe the team should retain its star forward as he enters the final year of his current contract. However, not everyone agreed on whether or not to extend him — one scout pointed out that Leonard “clearly” wants to be in L.A. and argued the club should be no rush to lock him up, while another expressed that an extension is the right move as long as the terms “make sense for the team.” One Eastern Conference executive also suggested to Windhorst that Leonard could have significant trade value if the Clippers are willing to make him available: “Every day you hear about what’s going to happen with Giannis, but everyone ignores that Kawhi has been better and healthier over the last two seasons. If you had a chance to acquire one or the other, I might go Kawhi.”
- Despite the fact that the Sixers have a pair of pricey multiyear contracts on their books for injury-prone veterans Joel Embiid and Paul George, their head of basketball operations job is viewed as “enticing” due to the Tyrese Maxey/VJ Edgecombe backcourt duo, several executives told Windhorst at the combine.
- The general consensus at the combine was that returning to the Lakers is the most likely outcome for LeBron James this summer, since it’s “hard to fit him anywhere” else, as one Western Conference scout told Bontemps. An East executive who spoke to Windhorst indicated he’d be willing to pay James whatever he wanted on a one-year deal if he were running the Lakers. “Give him the no-trade clause,” the exec said. “Everything (Lakers owner Mark) Walter has done so far has been about good business. LeBron sells tickets. He keeps the (local) TV partner happy. Re-signing LeBron is good business.”
Sixers Rumors: Front Office, Morey, Embiid, George, More
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey still had two “expensive” years left on his contract, but that didn’t dissuade the team’s ownership group from deciding that a front office change was necessary, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
After formally confirming on Tuesday that they’ve parted ways with Morey, the 76ers have tasked Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president of sports Bob Myers with temporarily running the front office and leading the search for a new lead basketball executive. However, according to Fischer, the plan is for Myers to return to an advisory role once a hire is made.
Myers will consider candidates within the organization in addition to external options, Fischer writes. While it’s too early to identify potential frontrunners, Fischer says Andre Iguodala, the current NBPA executive director who played under Myers in Golden State and also spent several years playing in Philadelphia, isn’t expected to receive consideration for the job, even though his stint with the players’ union is scheduled to end next month.
Here’s more from Fischer on the Sixers:
- Although fans in Philadelphia weren’t happy about the mid-season trade that sent Jared McCain to Oklahoma City for draft assets, including a 2026 first-rounder, a source with knowledge of the situation told Fischer that deal wasn’t the “proverbial last straw” for Morey. Ownership “very much approved” that deal, Fischer writes, which makes sense, given that it helped the 76ers move out of luxury tax territory. The club is also optimistic about its ability to select a quality prospect next month with the No. 22 overall pick acquired in that trade, Fischer adds.
- There’s a widespread belief that the Sixers would be best off resetting their roster around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, but that will be easier said than done in the short term, Fischer notes. The three years and $188MM left on Joel Embiid‘s contract will make it very challenging to move him without attaching sweeteners, which likely won’t appeal to Philadelphia, meaning an Embiid trade is unlikely to happen this offseason. According to Fischer, one idea mentioned by rival strategists is a swap involving Embiid and Kings center Domantas Sabonis, but he acknowledges that calling that scenario a “long shot” might be understating it.
- As tricky as Embiid would be to move, the same may no longer be true of Paul George, who rehabilitated his value to some extent with a strong finish to the season, including a playoff run in which he shot 49.3% from three-point range. George also has just one guaranteed year remaining on his maximum-salary contract, with a player option to follow, so if he conveys a willingness to decline that option in favor of an extension that starts at a lower number, that could make potential suitors more comfortable rolling the dice on him. Fischer likens George’s contract situation – and trade value – to Trae Young‘s entering last season. The Hawks didn’t acquire any draft picks for Young but they didn’t have to send out any either, and they were able to acquire two relatively team-friendly contracts in their deal with Washington.
- Even though Nurse will remain in his position as head coach, there’s an expectation that his staff will undergo some offseason changes, according to Fischer, who observes that a number of Sixers assistants are on expiring contracts.
Sixers Notes: Edgecombe, Maxey, Offseason
The Sixers‘ season ended in disappointing fashion on Sunday, as the team was thoroughly outplayed — and swept — by New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. If there’s a reason to believe in the 76ers’ future, it’s largely due to the impressive play of rookie VJ Edgecombe, writes Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
“Playing against the Celtics to now against New York, it was tricky. I was guarded differently,” Edgecombe said on Sunday. “I’m gonna take some time, look back at it after a couple of weeks or so.
“I refuse for, coming into next year, a team won’t ever leave me open. Even during the regular season, I was shooting the ball pretty well, and the playoffs come, and it’s just a different vibe, you know? Intensity’s higher, closeouts are a lot quicker, but I’m going to go in, and I’m gonna work. I’m gonna work. I’m gonna work. I’m going to do whatever I got to do to get better, make life easier for [Tyrese Maxey] and the rest of my teammates, take some of the pressure off some of the load offensively off of them.”
In addition to offensive improvements, the 6’4″ guard hopes to continue honing his craft on the defensive end as well, per Neubeck.
“Defensively, I’m gonna keep getting better, keep learning. For the rest of my career, I want to go out and say I can go guard whoever I have to go guard,” Edgecombe said. “I’m just excited to see how this offseason is gonna look for me, and next year I’m coming back better, stronger, faster, more athletic, whatever I gotta do.”
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
- Maxey had an excellent season for the Sixers and will almost certainly earn his first All-NBA berth in 2025/26, but he struggled with double-teams and traps in the second-round matchup vs. the Knicks, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Maxey is hoping he’ll be able to play off the ball more often in 2026/27 as Edgecombe works on initiating the offense. “When you’re in front of the defense all the time,” Maxey said. “ … it gives [the opponent] opportunities that have the entire team kind of load up. And I feel like that’s one thing that really good players and great players can do. They can be on the ball [and] make plays on the ball, but they can also play off the ball and contribute that way, use their gravity that way.”
- Although The Athletic reported on Monday that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse could be dismissed, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice doesn’t expect that to happen after the 3-1 first-round comeback against Boston. Still, he acknowledges the possibility can’t be ruled out after the 76ers were swept in the second round. Aaronson also provides an overview of the team’s offseason, noting that Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond are the 76ers’ primary free agents.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks previews the Sixers’ offseason, writing that they’ll likely be over the first tax apron if they re-sign Grimes and Oubre. Gauging the trade market for Joel Embiid and Paul George to build around Maxey and Edgecombe would be an ideal outcome for Philadelphia, but Marks views that scenario as unlikely given how much money those two aging stars are owed.
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Edgecombe, Oubre, Maxey
The Sixers were swept by the Knicks on Sunday, losing their Eastern Conference semifinal series 4-0 after completing a 3-1 comeback against Boston in the first round. Philadelphia was overmatched in Game 4 and wound up losing by 30 points.
“At times, it’s okay to just say the other team was better,” star center Joel Embiid said, per Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). “… Gotta get better, from top to bottom. Ownership, front office, players, coaches. Everybody just gotta get better.”
Despite the dispiriting manner in which they lost, Embiid viewed the season as a success because of the way he and the team were able to manage his left knee, which has undergone multiple surgeries.
“We came into the season thinking there was not much left…I thought I was done,” Embiid said (Twitter link via Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports).
The 32-year-old continues to express confidence in his knee, which caused him to miss extended time in recent seasons, tweets Bodner.
“I’m as confident as I’ve ever been [with the knee],” Embiid said. “Obviously, that was the biggest concern. I’m not thinking about it, and as long as we keep doing what we’re doing, I won’t have to think about it anymore.“
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
- Embiid said he had complications after his emergency appendectomy, which caused him to miss three games at the end of the regular season and the first three games of the playoffs, as Bodner relays (via Twitter). “The things that I’ve been dealing with, they’ve all been related to the surgery,” Embiid said. “Coming back early, the core was weak, everything was affected. So you’re looking at the hip, the adductor, everything is out of place. Jumping right to playoff basketball, that was tough. But I felt I still played as hard as I could.”
- When asked if he thought about his legacy, the former MVP replied, “I want to win more than anyone. It sucks to lose. I haven’t won anything, so that hurts. But to go home and raise [his son], raise my daughter, look at my wife in the eyes and understand I’m a good man…Really, that’s all that matters” (Twitter link via Bodner)
- Both head coach Nick Nurse and Embiid were complimentary of standout rookie VJ Edgecombe, who was selected third overall in last year’s draft, according to Bodner and Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter links). “That was a hell of an impressive rookie season. He’s a hell of a player,” Nurse said. “It’s not about shooting, scoring, jumping, all that stuff. He really knows how to play. He really has a leadership quality to him. He’s a big-time winner.” Embiid said Edgecombe “has a chance to be extremely special” and hopes to help his teammate continue to develop.
- Veteran forward Kelly Oubre Jr. discussed his impending free agency after Sunday’s loss, saying he loves Philadelphia (Twitter links via Bodner). “I’ve averaged 20 points in this league and still find myself barely getting any contracts…I hope I did myself a good service by being more efficient, slowing down, and playing better overall basketball,” said, Oubre, who added he wanted to be “somewhere where I’m loved. Somewhere where my family can be comfortable…I just want my kids to have somewhere they can call home.”
- Star guard Tyrese Maxey was not happy about Knicks fans taking over the Sixers’ home arena, tweets Bodner. “It absolutely sucks. It just sucks,” Maxey said. “That’s really all I can say about it, man…There’s only one way to put a stop to it: we have to go out there and win these games. It felt louder here for them than it did in the Garden.”
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Bench, 3-0 Deficit, Maxey
Joel Embiid sat out Game 2 of the Sixers‘ series against the Knicks due to ankle and hip injuries. He returned for Game 3 but only contributed 16 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes as Philadelphia fell behind 3-0 in the series with a 108-94 loss.
“I thought he gave us everything he could,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “I really do. I think he tried to give us everything he could tonight, and that’s all he can do.”
The Knicks also went right at Embiid on defense, taking advantage of his limited mobility.
“I’m OK,” Embiid said. “Obviously, a tough loss tonight.”
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- Their bench failed them in Game 3, according to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who notes that the reserves didn’t produce a single point in the first three quarters Friday’s contest. They were eventually outscored 29-11 by the Knicks’ reserves. “We definitely need a push. Someone [to] come in and give us that extra little [oomph],” Paul George said. “That’s what it’s going to take, especially in the playoffs. You need everybody. You need role guys to step up and bench guys to step up. We’ve got the guys that can do it. I’m positive that we’ll make a turnaround for Game 4.”
- The Sixers rallied from a 3-1 deficit against Boston in the opening round. They’ll have to summon up even more magic to pull off a comeback in this series. “We’re in a situation where we have to go out there and get the next one and see what happens,” Nurse said, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. “If you get one, it gets to 3-1, and then a series can turn pretty quickly. But we’re going to have to dig in and do some things better. We started out tonight playing great. But we had a bad stretch of defensive rebounding, and we gave up direct line drives. We just didn’t score enough. We didn’t keep the scoreboard moving.” Kelly Oubre Jr. notes they’ll have to improve in several areas to pull it off. “I think we have to stay swaggy,” he said. “This team has told a tale of resilience. Whenever we’ve had our backs against the wall, we’ve fought hard. We are the ones who dug ourselves this hole. We’re the only ones who can dig ourselves out of this hole. But we have to clean up a lot of mistakes. We have to go and look at the film and see where they are burning us.”
- The team’s three max players — Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and George — carried them to the second round but haven’t been up to the task to get them out of the conference semis, Adam Aaranson of PhillyVoice.com writes. Maxey had a dazzling series against Boston in which he busted every coverage and took care of the ball, Aaronson points out, but he’s been neutralized by New York’s length while committing careless turnovers. He also looks exhausted after logging 41.0 minutes per game in the first round, having been held to 18.7 PPG and 5.0 APG in three games by New York. Maxey has committed four turnovers per game while knocking down just two total three-pointers.
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Maxey, Edgecombe, More
History was made on Saturday in Boston, as the Sixers became the first No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference to defeat a No. 2 seed since the NBA expanded to a best-of-seven format in the first round in 2003 (Twitter link via the league). Philadelphia also became the 14th team in playoff history to come back from a 3-1 deficit.
As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, history was also made between the two teams, as the 76ers were 0-18 all time when in a 3-1 series hole, while the Celtics had been 32-0 when up 3-1. It had been 44 years since Philadelphia had beaten its Atlantic Division rival in the postseason, a span of six playoff series, three of which included Joel Embiid, Bontemps notes.
Embiid, who had an emergency appendectomy three-plus weeks ago, changed the complexion of the series when he returned to action in Game 4. Although the Sixers lost that contest in lopsided fashion, they outplayed the Celtics over the final three games, with Embiid recording 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes in the decisive Game 7 to help vanquish his longtime foes.
“It feels good to win,” Embiid said. “Obviously, we got a bigger goal in mind. But finally beating these guys feels pretty good.”
The former league MVP had plenty of help on Saturday, as All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists of his own, making them the first teammates in NBA history to each register 30-10-5 lines in a Game 7, according to Bontemps.
“I just really wanted the ball,” Maxey said of his late-game heroics. “Early in the fourth, we went to Joel, and I just felt like it was time for me to step up and make a play.”
Here’s more on the Sixers, whose second-round matchup with New York begins on Monday:
- Embiid took some time to “bask in the glow” of his first Game 7 victory, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who writes that the 32-year-old center appeared to hyperextend his knee near the end of the fourth quarter, though he jokingly dismissed the limp he played with afterward (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). Injuries were a major concern for the 76ers throughout 2025/26 as they went 45-37 during the regular season, but Maxey said the team never lacked belief. “We’ve had this weird swag about us all year,” he said. “We’ve had this confidence in that we know who we can be. And, we know who we are. We have never wavered. This group has always believed in each other. This group really likes each other, and we want to see each other succeed.”
- The Game 7 victory to complete the comeback was remarkable for several reasons, writes Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. Boston was viewed as one of the favorites — if not the favorite — to come out of the East. Instead, the Celtics were sent home early by the Sixers, with Embiid looking unstoppable at times in the mid-post, both as a scorer and passer, and Maxey delivering haymakers at the end of games. Both the Sixers and Embiid deserve a lot of credit for weathering the storm and persevering in the face of adversity, Bodner adds.
- No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe was another huge factor on Saturday, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. In addition to recording 23 points, six rebounds and four assists, the rookie guard specifically requested to defend Derrick White after the Celtics guard erupted for 19 first-half points. In the third quarter, White was just 1-of-7 from the field and “a lot of that was VJ,” according to head coach Nick Nurse. “Those are the things that make a huge difference in games like this,” Nurse said.
Eastern Notes: Embiid, Grimes, Schröder, Cavaliers
Less than three weeks after an emergency appendectomy, Joel Embiid was the best player on the court as the Sixers staved off elimination in Tuesday’s Game 5 victory at Boston, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic.
“I was proud of him tonight,” said Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. “To see him go out there under those circumstances and play like that — he was dominant, especially in the second half. He did a great job of inserting himself into the game. He carried us tonight.”
The seven-time All-Star started the game slowly, only converting one of his first seven field goal attempts. However, he made 11 of his next 16 attempts, finishing 12-of-23, and went 9-of-10 from the foul line for a total of 33 points. Embiid also contributed eight assists and four rebounds, but most importantly he was a mismatch down low and the Celtics had no answers to stop him, Jones writes.
“I don’t want to go home,” Embiid said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m glad we won tonight. Because I didn’t want to go home and look back this summer and wonder what could have happened if I were healthy. I’ve dealt with a lot of stuff in my career. I want to give this all that I can.
“We were better defensively tonight than we had been. It’s a little easier when you’re making shots. When I started the game, me taking jumpers wasn’t working. I had to adjust. I wanted to impose myself and get into the paint a little bit more. When I’m playing one-on-one, I feel good about my chances of scoring on anyone in this league.”
As Embiid alluded to, Philadelphia held Boston to just 97 points on Tuesday after the Celtics blitzed the 76ers 128-97 in Game 4.
The 32-year-old center is probable to suit up for Thursday’s Game 6 in Philadelphia, per Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Boston’s bench had outplayed Philadelphia’s reserves through the first four games of their first-round series, but Sixers guard Quentin Grimes helped flipped that script in Game 5, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The impending free agent scored a highly efficient 18 points in 24 minutes while playing strong perimeter defense, Mizell notes. “Obviously, he gave us a great lift on both ends,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Grimes on Wednesday. “ … I’m glad he kind of looked more like himself.“
- Veteran point guard Dennis Schröder didn’t play much in the first four games of the Cavaliers‘ matchup with Toronto, averaging just 11.3 MPG, but he spoke up at halftime of Game 5 after Cleveland gave up 74 points in the first half and then played the entire fourth quarter to help lead the team to a comeback victory, as Jamal Collier of ESPN details. The 32-year-old German urged his teammates to bring more energy and assertiveness and to play through big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, according to Collier. Schröder had 19 points in 21 minutes, including 11 in the final period as the Cavs outscored the Raptors 25-17.
- While the Cavaliers showed some promising signs in Tuesday’s win, particularly in the fourth quarter, the fact that they’ve struggled for most of the the past three games may not bode well for the rest of the playoffs, argues Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. According to Lloyd, the Cavs will have to do more than eke out a home win against a banged-up Raptors team to prove their mettle, which has been repeatedly questioned the last few years following early postseason exits.
Atlantic Notes: Barnes, Pritchard, Stevens, Maxey
The Raptors won Game 4 over the Cavaliers despite missing 26 of 30 three-point attempts and shooting just 32.0% from the field. That’s a feat no team in playoff history has ever accomplished, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
It was an anomalous victory, which makes sense, because it was led by Toronto’s anomalous star, Scottie Barnes. Barnes shot 6-for-15 from the field and 0-for-3 from three, yet he scored or assisted on 35 of the team’s 93 points and was everywhere defensively.
Barnes had an excellent season for the Raptors, getting his second All-Star nod while averaging 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, and coming in fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Despite his strong showing, he was not widely predicted to be the best player in the series. Yet through four games, he’s been exactly that, writes Michael Grange from Sportsnet.
“He’s just a winning player, man,” said teammate RJ Barrett, who has also had a strong series. “He scores, he moves the ball, he rebounds, he defends, he does everything out there. He has a killer mentality, but I think the biggest thing right now is he is playing with force, he’s really making the defence have to guard him.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Payton Pritchard scored a playoff career-high 32 points in the Celtics‘ big Game 4 win over the Sixers. He credits the work he’s put in studying how the great players in the league maximize their advantages and skill sets. “I feel like obviously there’s genetic freaks,” Pritchard said. “I’m not one of them. But, like, LeBron (James) is a perfect example, too. He takes great care of his body daily. He makes little sacrifices. He’s talked about his sleep habits, his eating and all that. But even guys like Al Horford and Jrue Holiday, they’re able to play so long because of the habits they created.” Pritchard doesn’t drink, limits his bread and sweets, and changed his sleep routine, all in the search for peak performance.
- Brad Stevens had his work cut out for him last summer after losing nearly his entire frontcourt along with Holiday. While the players and coaching staff deserve immense credit for turning what was thought to be a gap year into a 56-win season, the job Stevens did in identifying talent like Neemias Queta to bring into coach Joe Mazzulla‘s system is deserving of an Executive of the Year award, Chris Forsberg writes for NBC Sports Boston. The award will be officially announced on Tuesday at 12:00 pm Central time.
- Despite getting big man Joel Embiid back for Game 4 on Sunday, the Sixers were blown out 128-96 by Boston. Star guard Tyrese Maxey was uncharacteristically quiet in the first half, scoring seven points on just three shots. He chastised himself for his lack of aggression after the game, Brian Robb writes for MassLive. “That absolutely can’t happen,” Maxey said. “That’s just unacceptable by me. It wasn’t meant to happen that way. We can’t win basketball games with that happening, and I take full responsibility on that one.” Maxey finished with 22 points on 14 shots after attempting at least 20 field goals in each of the first three games.
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Oubre, Rebounding, Game 3 Loss
Joel Embiid remains doubtful for the Sixers‘ Game 4 against Boston on Sunday, Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes in a subscriber-only story. Embiid hasn’t been able to play since undergoing an emergency appendectomy on April 9, but his status was upgraded to doubtful ahead of Game 3. Coach Nick Nurse told reporters that Embiid was able to go through an individual on-court workout on Saturday.
“He’s working as hard as he can to get back,” Nurse said. “We’re just going to have to see how it goes here today and tomorrow morning, and maybe we’ll know more towards the end of shootaround.”
Embiid participated in a light practice on Thursday, raising hopes that he’ll be able to return at some point in the series. Nurse admitted that “he’s just not ready” before Friday’s Game 3, and Sunday’s contest now carries a lot of importance with Philadelphia trailing 2-1 in the series.
“It [would be] a different ballgame having Joel back in the series,” said Adem Bona, who has replaced Embiid as the starting center. “It’s a huge advantage for us, so I’m just excited to see him back on the floor again.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- The Sixers may also be missing Kelly Oubre Jr., who is listed as questionable for Game 4 with right adductor soreness, Mizell adds. Oubre played 40 minutes on Friday, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds.
- Embiid’s absence on the boards was costly Friday night as the Celtics collected 15 offensive rebounds and finished with 22 second-chance points, notes Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice. The most important play of the night was an offensive rebound as Derrick White collected a Nikola Vucevic miss with about 40 seconds remaining and fired the ball to Jayson Tatum for a three-pointer that put the game out of reach. “The second chance points is what got us today,” veteran center Andre Drummond said. “I think other than that, we played a very well-rounded game. It was a very intense game, a fun game for us to play in. We get those second chance points off the board, I think we win the game.”
- The Sixers let an opportunity slip away in Game 3 that might cost them a chance to win the series, states Tony Jones of The Athletic. Philadelphia played well enough in some aspects — forcing 17 turnovers and outscoring Boston 42-26 in the paint — but wasn’t able to secure the victory. “It’s funny, the last game, they made a run and we came back and we made every single play and we won the game,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Tonight, we made the run at them, and they made every single play and they won the game. It’s little stuff like that that decides games. Our attention to detail has to be great, because the margins in these games are really small. These are single-possession games and every possession really matters.”